I went to the hospital for a specialist appointment on Monday. On my right foot is a lump of bone near one of the joints which is causing me pain when I walk. I've had it since I was in high school, but it is starting to hurt more, so I thought surgery might be a good option. The hospital was a bit confusing, as I got sent to about four different departments during my visit (X-ray, Orthopedist, Nursing, and Orthotist (the one who makes footwear)). Everyone was very friendly and nice, but it did take about 2.5 hours, which I was not expecting. The hospital is in desperate need of renovation too, as the chair covers are falling apart and the paint was cracking on the walls. It seems like a lot of NHS buildings are like that in Sheffield. I think more money probably needs to be put into renovating the facilities.

Unfortunately immigrants like myself are apparently putting the strain on the hospitals, according to the media. In fact, a nurse told me that while I was there. I did point out that many immigrants like myself do pay NHS taxes, but I don't think she was thinking of me as an immigrant, which is quite interesting. I've been in other situations like that where people forget that I am an immigrant. I think because I speak English and am able to integrate a bit more into the culture, I am not seen as an immigrant to some people. There's a lot of demonization of immigrants in the media as many people from Eastern Europe have moved to Britain to work. However, it seems like many of them take the undesirable jobs in the same way that Latino immigrants do in the US, so it seems mostly like rhetoric to me.